He accompanied Nuno da C?mara Pereira for four years recorded ? S? ? noitinha ? with the Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra.

An invitation arose to record with M?sia, ?Garras dos Sentidos?, becoming her principle accompanist for 2 years. A further invitation followed to record with Caman?, ?Na linha da Vida?, and then a tour with Caman? and Carlos Do Carmo.

He accompanied Am?lia Rodrigues on her last American tour presented his solo project at the invitation of Pedro Caldeira Cabral at Expo 98. Also in 1998 Castelo became mentor to the Cristina Branco project, exposing world wide his genius as a composer, producer, arranger and instrumentalist.

This project resulted in seven recordings and numerous tours throughout the world. The first of these recordings is Live  (1997) followed by Murm?rios (1998) which was distinguished in France with the prize, Choc de L`Ann?e du Monde de la Musique, in the World Music category. The following year, Post-Scriptum  was awarded the same prize and in 2000 appeared O Descobridor his most important and daring work as a composer. The record is wholly dedicated to the work of the Dutch Poet Jan Jacob Slauerhoff and composed entirely by Cust?dio Castelo, rising to prominence with first place in the ?top? composers for that year. O Descobridor went platinum in Holland and its themes were later orchestrated by Bob Zimerman.

In 2001 Corpo Iluminado  arrived on the market, a gold record in Holland and Belgium, followed by ?Sensus (2003), a gold record in Holland, and Ulisses  (2005).

Castelo accompanied Mafalda Arnauth at ?The Royal Hope Charity Gala? with Sarah Brightman, the Royal Ballet Pl?cido Domingo and Joaquin Cort?s.

His versatility has never allowed him to be solely a fado accompanist, he has never been chained to the forms of fado, having been exposed to diverse influences as an adolescent and bringing to the Portuguese guitar his personal tastes for other musical genres, primarily the Tango (Piazolla).

With the ?Cristina Branco ? Project?, Castelo has achieved world renown for his innovative and daring conception of music, being today recognised for a certain irreverence in his approach to the themes and the creation of a new environment for the ?traditional? fados and by the fusion of the Portuguese Guitar with other sounds, having shared the stage whith numerous musicians and singers from other areas. Richard Galliano (accordion), Arrigo Cappelletti (piano), Andr? Dequech (piano), Daniele di Bonaventura (bandone?n), David Zacaria (cello), Ben Wolf (double bass), Leonardo Amuedo (classical guitar), Olga Pratz (piano), C?rmen Linares, Ana Salazar...

As a soloist, Castelo has taken his sound and his brilliant compositions to the most highly regarded music festivals in the world: Festival de Belo Horizonte (Brazil), World Music Festival of Philadelphia (USA), International Festival de Rabat (Morocco), North Sea Jazz Festival (Dan Hag, Haia), Festival du Sud (France)...

In 2004, Castelo underwent unexpected surgery for a rupture to the ligaments in his right shoulder. Due the seriousness of this injury he appeared to be facing a premature end to a brilliant career. At this very difficult time, for someone to whom their music is their life, Castelo reunited various musicians and friends who had always accompanied him, Jorge Fernando, Alexandre Silva, Fernando Maia, Marino de Freitas, Miguel Carvalhinho, Carlos Manuel Proen?a, Carlos Velez, Carlos Garcia, Filipe Larsen, and went into the studio with the purpose of recording his work of many years, achieving this with great physical difficult, in a tense climate, as a farewell to his guitar.

Thus was born Tempus, a marvelous record full of sentiments and of an irreproachable quality, which has never been available in Portugal.

However, destiny did not wish Castelo to be separated from the great love of his life, the Portuguese Guitar, and after some months away and a difficult and remarkable recovery he returned to the stage at the beginning of 2005 to record the most recent works by Jorge Fernando, Gon?alo Salgueiro, Raquel Tavares, Jo?o Chora, Ana Moura...

With Ana Moura and Jorge Fernando, Castelo was been invited by Tim Ries to record two tracks (Brown Sugar and No Expectation ) for the second volume of ?The Rolling Stones project?.

At the present moment Cust?dio Castelo divides his time between his careers as a soloist, a composer and producer; he is mentor to the project ?Encores Fado?, where the Portuguese Guitar invites the voice of Margarida Guerreiro to sing unreleased pieces by Cec?lia Meireles, Am?lia Rodrigues, Fernando Pessoa, David Mour?o Ferreira, Pedro Homem de Mello, in a journey between the traditional and contemporary, where the dance of free expression is prominent.

Official Web Site: www.custodiocastelo.net